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PHOTOS: Nation Says Goodbye To Pampore Martyrs

PHOTOS: Nation Says Goodbye To Pampore Martyrs
HuffPost Staff

For Captain Pawan Kumar, a Jat and a JNU degree holder, all that mattered was love for the country and not calls for azadi (freedom) on the campus or the reservation demand by his community members in Haryana.

"Kisiko reservation chahiye to kisiko azadi bhai. Humein kuchh nahin chahiye bhai. Bas apni razai. (Some want reservation and some independence, I don't want anything, brother, I want only my quilt)," said the 23-year-old captain of the Special Forces, who laid down his life while leading his team against terrorists in Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir in his last Facebook post on Saturday.

Kumar was among the three Indian army commandos, two policemen and a civilian who were killed in a fierce gunfight with a group of terrorists holed up inside a government building on the outskirts of Srinagar, according to PTI.

The multi-storied building of Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) building in Pampore caught fire on Saturday afternoon as the encounter between army and the heavily-armed terrorists, suspected to be 3-4 in number, still continues on day three.

The Army lost Captain Pawan Kumar, Captain Tushar Mahajan and jawan Om Prakash, all of the elite Para commando units, in the gun battle that started Saturday, and is still ongoing.

Here are some glimpses of Indians paying a final goodbye to the brave soldiers:

The army on Monday bid adieu to Captain Tushar Mahajan who was killed while fighting terrorists in Pampore of South Kashmir's Pulwama district.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The mother of Indian Army Captain Tushar Mahajan cries next the coffin of his son in Udhampur's military station, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Mahajan died from injuries sustained during a gunbattle between Kashmiri rebels and Indian government forces in the Pampore area, Indian-controlled Kashmir.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Senior army officers, including General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Northern Commanding, Lt Gen D S Hooda and several other officers attended the wreath laying ceremony at the Headquarters of Northern Command in Jammu.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Indian army carry the coffin of Army Captain Tushar Mahajan in Udhampur, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016.
Captain Pawan Kumar, 22, who died fighting terrorists on Sunday in Pampore in Kashmir valley is an elite Para commando.
Times Now
Wreath laying ceremony of Captain Pawan Kumar.
Times Now
Captain Pawan Kumar's last Facebook status update said, "Kisi ko reservation chahiye toh kisiko azadi bhai, humein kuch nahi chahiye bhai bas apni razai...". (Some want reservations, some even freedom, but I want nothing, just my blanket).
Times Now
Times Now
Press Trust of India
Wreath laying ceremony.
Press Trust of India

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.